Plenderleith progress halted at last eight

NORTH Midlands, fresh from their momentous victory over South Yorkshire in the last of the round robin group matches, now face Greater Manchester on Sunday afternoon in the semi finals of the British Crown Green Bowls Association’s Crosfield Cup.

NORTH Midlands, fresh from their momentous victory over South Yorkshire in the last of the round robin group matches, now face Greater Manchester on Sunday afternoon in the semi finals of the British Crown Green Bowls Association’s Crosfield Cup.

The last time the two counties clashed was in 2007 when the scores were tied at 405 shots each and another closely fought confrontation is very much on the cards.

The Manchurians are sure to be a tough nut to crack having been winners of the prestigious trophy on no fewer than six occasions in the last 13 years, the most recent being in 2008 when they were victorious over Derbyshire, who that season beat the North Midlands at this stage.

Dunlop No1 green is the venue for the home leg while the travelling squad go to George and Dragon BC in Hyde and there’s no shortage of confidence in the North Midlands line-up that they have the quality within their ranks to win the match and secure a final spot.

Competition secretary Bob Moss said: “It will be up to our home lads to post a winning advantage at Burnaby Road and give their away colleagues a reasonable cushion on which to work although looking at the strength in depth of the vastly experienced away team at Hyde they are more than capable of winning the tie let alone keeping the deficit down to a minimum on what is sure to be an intricate green with subtle contours.

“We are hoping for a big crowd at the Dunlop, whose support can go a long way in helping to achieve the victory, which will give them their first final appearance since 2005. Both legs start at 2pm.”